


The Bet

by undergod



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Brooklyn Nine Nine, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Police, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-19 11:06:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13122441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/undergod/pseuds/undergod
Summary: Simon wheels the whiteboard out from the conference room to Jace's desk. At the top whiteboard is the title NUMBER OF ARRESTS MADE IN ONE WEEK, with Jace and Simon's names below. The stakes are written there too, and signed with Izzy and Clary as their witnesses: If Simon loses, he has to do Jace's paperwork for a month. If Jace loses, he's going to accompany Simon to the Avengers premier this weekend dressed as Captain America.aka - A buddycop/Brookyln Nine Nine fusion.





	The Bet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AnnCherie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnCherie/gifts).



> Hi Secret Snowflake! This fic is a hot mess (and a little rushed towards the end), but it's your hot mess so I hope you enjoy it! I have to apologize, this fic has nothing that you preferred. You said you like canon centric--but apparently I can only write AU. You said you wanted an LGBT ensemble--but apparently _I suck at ensembles too._ I do, however, remember that you like Brooklyn Nine Nine, so please enjoy this grossly serious Brooklyn Nine Nine fusion fic starring Jace and Simon.

 

The setup is straight out of a cheesy cop flick, actually. Warehouse on the docks, lights off so the only dim light peaks in through the outdoor lights outside the high windows, the two buddy cop leads left tied together in chairs set back to back.

Jace feels overheated and itchy in the awful polyester Captain America costume he's wearing, but his hands are literally tied.

“You couldn't have gotten me a costume that breathes?” Jace grunts at his partner. He's trying to shuffle his hands out of the ropes; the knots chafe against his wrists, and his hands occasionally brush up against Simon's as he does so.

“Hey, I was expecting a nice night out at the Avengers premier. I didn't anticipate the need to escape a kidnapping situation, alright?” Simon snaps back. Jace feels Simon slap his hands in a wordless attempt to tell Jace to calm down.

Jace takes the hint and focuses instead on keeping his hands still breathing through the feeling of Simon's fingers creeping up to work at the knot around Jace's wrists. Simon must have a better angle than he does, as well as amazing dexterity, because pretty soon Jace can feel the rope around his wrists beginning to loosen.

“What'd you do to piss these guys off anyways?” Simon continues loudly. “Did you put away their mob boss?”

It's at that moment the warehouse lights flick on, blinding Jace momentarily with its brightness. Then, while Jace's eyes adjust, he hears someone else respond.

“No,” the voice of another man says, ringing loud and clear in the empty warehouse. “He took our father. Isn't that right... _brother_?”

\--

THREE DAYS EARLIER

It's Tuesday morning at the precinct, and Jace is at his desk double checking that the warrants he filed are all properly approved. It's his second month back in the field since he wrapped up an undercover op; he's still nervous that at any point he'll be back in under if he forgets to cross even one T.

That's when Simon strolls in from the hallway, crowing maniacally at the top of his lungs.

“It is I, Simon of House Lewis, the First of My Name, Breaker Of Brooklyn Street Racing Rings, and Greatest Detective Ever!” Simon cries, flinging his arms wide.

Jace takes a break from flipping through his files to turn and watch as Simon takes a moment to stand in the middle of the bullpen with arms out to bask in the scattered applause from his coworkers. Simon's still wearing his sunglasses inside, his NYPD windbreaker pushed up to his elbows and dark curls just slightly windswept. Behind him, Izzy and a few officers in blue escort a string of seven perps to holding.

Maia and Clary are the only ones to really play along with Simon's antics, whooping in approval. Maia even does a wolf whistle. Jace just leans back in his desk chair with his arms crossed, trying to look unimpressed when Simon turns to him specifically and arches an eyebrow, as if daring for Jace to say something complimentary.

“You look stupid,” Jace says blandly. “You're still wearing your sunglasses. We're inside, doofus.”

Simon huffs and takes the offending glasses off. “You wish you could be as cool as me,” he says childishly.

Then, as if to rub it in Jace's face, Simon wheels the whiteboard out from the conference room to Jace's desk. At the top whiteboard is the title NUMBER OF ARRESTS MADE IN ONE WEEK, with Jace and Simon's names below. The stakes are written there too, and signed with Izzy and Clary as their witnesses: If Simon loses, he has to do Jace's paperwork for a month. If Jace loses, he's going to accompany Simon to the Avengers premier this weekend dressed as Captain America.

Simon dramatically whips the cap off a dry erase marker and adds seven tally marks below his name, and points exaggeratedly at the board.

“See that?” Simon says, “What's that look like? It looks to me like Detective Lewis has… one-two-three… _eight_ arrests since the start of the bet last Tuesday, and Detective Wayland here's got… _six._ It looks to me like I'm in the lead.”

Jace watches Simon's face as he pretends to count the tally marks next to each other names, only averting his eyes when the other detective turns to him for acknowledgement. Simon perches on the edge of his desk, arms crossed as he smirks down at Jace. Heat curls up Jace's neck, but at least Simon seems to take the flush to be one of mild irritation, judging by the increased smugness emanating from his aura.

“This is only a temporary setback,” Jace insists.

“A temporary setback?” Simon sounds dubious. “You know the bet was most arrests in a week, right? You have till the end of the day before you _lose_ and you're locked into coming with me to the new Avengers premier in full cosplay.”

Jace scoffs. “Clary and I were just about to go nab a trio of jewelry store robbers. Ready to go, Fray?” He calls that last sentence out in Clary's direction, pushing his chair back to stand up.

He does his best to ignore Simon right next to him as he shrugs on his leather jacket. Jace reaches over to grab some files from his desk, which has the unfortunate effect of putting him right up close and personal to Simon, still sitting on Jace's deck like he belongs there.

Simon changed his cologne at some point in the three months Jace was away. The fresh, earthy scent is intoxicating. Jace hates it.

Eyes narrowed, Simon throws a glance over at Clary and back to Jace. “You _wouldn't_. Turning Clary against me? That's next level _evil_.”

Jace pastes on his default, arrogant expression. Simon's joking, but still. He was the one who tagged Izzy as his partner for the illegal street racing ring he just busted. So he tells Simon in a low, mock threatening voice, “You steal my sister, I take your best friend. All's fair in love and war.”

Simon reddens--his buttons are too easy to push--but seems to be rendered speechless as Jace winks smugly. Jace turns to leave, leaving Simon sputtering behind him.

\--

Simon is the bane of Jace's existence, has been from the first moment they bumped into each other in the hallway on the day Simon has been promoted to detective and transferred to the 99th precinct. Simon hadn't apologized for walking head first into Jace's chest, just made some joke about finally meeting his new, beefcake coworker.

“I'm surprised your shirt even fits you,” Simon had said, reaching out to smack the back of his hand against Jace's bicep, as if to test its tensile strength.

Since then, he's made quips at Jace's expense nearly everyday--across the bullpen, during briefings, and especially when they're working on a case together. He dresses like an eyesore, his shirts constantly wrinkled and unbuttoned at the collar, and his trendy hipster glasses bother Jace like no other.

Worst of all, he's too good of a detective to just write off. He's witty and intelligent and has saved Jace's life on more than one occasion. And as much as they've become something like friends, they're also rivals too. He was the one to challenge jace with a running tally of arrests. He makes life more interesting.

So yeah, Simon is the bane of Jace's existence, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

\--

Jace loves Clary, truly. They've been friends since the police academy, and she's had his back all these years. But sometimes, she can be a little bit overbearing.

“I'm just saying, it's been over a month since you got back from your undercover mission. It's time to get back out there on the dating scene,” Clary tells him, as he's driving them to the spot where they're going to rendezvous with the tactical team.

Jace grips the steering wheel tightly and thinks about driving into a wall. It's been non-stop, these past weeks, Clary's utter need to involve herself in his life. It's as though the months of being undercover has changed him in some way that she doesn't like, and maybe it has.

He says, “I'm just letting things cool down and get back to normal.”

“You know what's not normal?” Clary asks, incredulous. “Jace Herondale not actively trying to score a date. Kaelie down at the morgue asked about you last time I was down there. Maybe you should ask her out.”

Jace doesn't say anything in response. He's slept with Kaelie before, even hooked up during work hours a couple times. Which, okay, was _very wrong_ of him, but the sex and the sneaking around had been crazy hot. It only stopped when Simon caught them in the act one afternoon when Jace was taking too long to get back upstairs with the report. Jace couldn't find anything remotely sexy about Kaelie after that.

He's still not sure what was worse--getting caught, or getting caught by _Simon--_ but thankfully the other detective has been keeping his secret between the two of them. Even from Clary, apparently, which is a true shocker.

None of that matters anyway. He's at a point in his life where his priorities have changed; he's not after one night stands. He wants something real, with someone he cares about. And if the person he cares about doesn't want him? Well, there's nothing to be done about that.

\--

Jace is now in the lead, 9 to 8.

Simon pouts a little bit when Jace adds the three latest arrests to his tally on the board. It's almost five now, which means it's the end of the day, and Jace is just minutes away from winning their bet. Jace revels in it.

“I'm really looking forward to all the free time I'm going to get when you're doing my paperwork for a month,” he gloats.

“That's what you think,” Simon says, sounding a lot like someone who thinks Jace is missing something big. He holds up a manilla folder with a grin and hands it over to Jace dramatically. “ _This_ is a public indecency arrest. And _this,”_ Simon adds, pulling another file out of seemingly nowhere, “Is a wannabe cat burglar. Both of whom I scooped up in during the hours it took you and Clary to bring your three little jewel thieves and book them. Which _means...”_

Simon adds his two tallys to the board excitedly, bringing the score now to 11-9 in Simon's favor. He's ridiculously excited, and Jace wants to feel frustrated at the way Simon begins to plan out Jace's punishment for losing the bet. But listening to Simon babble about just where they can get the pieces for Jace's costume, all Jace feels is proud and fond. He has to admit, too, that he's actually kind of glad that Simon's won. He will never say it out loud, but he's secretly glad for the excuse to spend time with Simon outside of the office.

\--

The problem is just that, even besides the ongoing competition between the two of them, things have been off between Jace and Simon since Jace returned from going undercover.

Jace knows that the weirdness is all from his side. He had gone and done something stupid, just before going undercover with the Circle.

He remembers the night before going on his assignment. It had been a long one, the stakeout that had led Simon and Jace to realize that the leader of the Circle--the Gang that they were going after--was none other than Jace's father, the man that had adopted him and raised him as a child until he was taken away and put into foster care with the Lightwoods.

After the discovery had been a series of rapid meetings--first with Alec, their Sargent, and then Captain Garroway, And then after that, Police Chief Herondale, who approved a proposal to put Jace undercover for surveillance and intel on the activities of the Circle.

Even though Simon had worked a double and really should have gone home to get some sleep, he had stuck around the entire night, falling asleep in the uncomfortable wooden chairs in the hall outside of Chief Herondale's office.

Jace had never felt as fond of Simon as then, seeing the man asleep in the chair as he exited Herondale's office on his way to a deep cover operation with one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in the city. He watched as Simon jolted awake at the sound of the office door and blinked sleep from his eyes.

Maybe that's why Jace did what he did, said what he said.

“It's hard to believe you won't be around to make fun of in the precinct,” Simon said, trying to make their goodbye feel light.

Jace had tried to laugh and shoot back with something sarcastic and quippy. That's what Simon was expecting anyway. Instead, Jace had looked Simon in the eye and said, “I'm pretty sure I'm coming back, but if I don't…” He paused then, taking in Simon's anticipating look, then barrelled forward: “I think it's a shame nothing ever happened between us, romantically. You drive me insane in all the worst ways, but the in all the best ways too. And… I think you should know that.”

Simon, either from shock or lack of sleep, had nothing to say to that. Instead, he just gaped, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly Jace was ushered away to have him processed for the undercover operation.

Jace doesn't know what he had been expecting upon his return. Maybe he was hoping to come back as a hero, and Simon would look at him in a whole new light. Maybe they would sit down and have a talk, and Simon would say he had been too shocked at the time to say anything but that he felt the same way.

Whatever it was Jace wanted, he didn't get it. Simon hasn't even acknowledged anything about the night Jace went away. It's as though the whole confession had never happened.

Jace can take a hint.

\--

On Friday, the night of the premier, Simon insists that they dress up and meet at the bar around the corner from the precinct. Jace is sure this whole ordeal is to expose Jace to the maximum amount of ridicule, since this bar is frequented by nearly all their co-workers.

Jace feels uncomfortable in the cheap Halloween costume Simon had gotten for him. The outfit consists of a face mask and a one-piece jumpsuit that seems to cling to Jace's skin; he feels itchy and like the fabric doesn't leave any part of his body to the imagination. He feels watched when he enters the bar, many of his coworkers greeting him in amusement.

It's been a while since he's been to this spot, and he feels uncomfortable stepping in through the front door. A lot of his coworkers sees him and laugh. Raj insists on taking a picture with him; Victor mocks him to his face. One of the few non-cops catches Jace's eye from where the blond man is sitting on a stool, just nods at him briefly and looks away, though Jace can't shake the feeling that the man keeps glancing at him like he's a zoo animal.

Looking around, he finds Clary at the bar, teasing the bartender flirtatiously as she waits for a round of drinks. The other woman smiles back at her before turning to address another customer at the other end of the bar.

“No,” Clary says shortly when Jace sidles up to her. “You go away. I'm _trying_ to get this girl's number, and the last time we were out together, the girl thought we were _together_.”

“I thought you were dating Maia?” Jace questions. He mostly recalls this because Clary and Maia had gone official the week before he left for undercover; Izzy, who has been in love with Clary for years, spent the entire week moping on Jace's couch.

“It was too weird dating Luke's assistant, so no,” Clary says distractedly, using their precinct captain's first name as only she gets to. “We broke up months ago; we were always better friends anyway.”

Jace doesn't usually butt into other people's personal lives--he's not _Clary_ after all, the little hypocrite--so this is all news to him. Izzy has got to be ecstatic.

Clary shoos Jace away, but not before unloading a pitcher of beer and an armful of glasses on him. Jace is tempted to sick around just to annoy her, but the temptation of getting Simon to himself is more appealing.

Jace finally finds Simon in a corner booth with some of the other officers and detectives from the precinct, including Jace's siblings. Simon's wearing a similar outfit to Jace's; instead of a blue Captain America suit Simon is wearing the gold and red jumpsuit for Iron Man. It suits Simon, somehow, in a way the costume doesn't suit Jace. Simon has his mask flipped upon his head as he looks at his phone, and then he glances up and notices Jace. Simon grins broadly, his megawatt smile beaming like a spotlight in Jace's eye.

“Looking good, Cap,” Simon teases, giving Jace an obvious once over. It doesn't mean anything, but Jace can't convince his heart rate otherwise. The flush on his neck his back, but the mask hides the ruddiness of his cheeks at least.

Maia, sitting next to Simon, snickers loudly. Jace responds by slamming the pitcher of beer on the table and glaring pointedly at her.

“Are we going to the movies or what,” Jace asks stiffly.

“Yes!” Simon exclaims, beaming ridiculously as he clambers out of the booth. “And you're all sure about not coming?” he asks their coworkers before they go.

Alec shakes his head, his eyes not leaving his phone. “I have date night with Magnus,” he grunts.

Izzy waves them off too. “Avengers aren't really my thing,” she mutters, distracted as she gazes in the direction of where Clary is still at the bar talking to the bartender.

Maia just smiles coyly as she pours herself a beer from the pitcher. “Go,” she says, patting Simon on his costume-clad arm. “Have fun on your movie date!”

“It's not a date!” Simon bursts out, exasperated as though he's said this a million times. “I'm parading Jace around the streets in a Captain America suit because he _lost the bet_. Not a date. Nope, not at all.”

Jace rolls his eyes and grabs Simon by the scruff of his costume, pulling him along and out the door before Simon can keep rambling.

\--

Simon decides they're walking--for maximum exposure of Jace's embarrassment--and babbles the entire time they're walking down the street together, two costumed heroes side by side. It's a low traffic street, more well lit in some areas than others, and the theater is supposed to be a couple blocks away.

Jace has never seen a Marvel movie before, so Simon is trying his hardest to get Jace up to speed by telling him every single detail from the previous eleven movies. It's a lot to keep up with; it doesn't help that Simon's iPhone keeps buzzing and Simon responds every single time.

“Who's that? Boyfriend?” Jace asks curiously the fourth or fifth time Simon's phone goes off.

“Oh, no,” Simon says with a huff. “It's just Clary. She's freaking out because she's trying to make your sister jealous, and Izzy's not really taking the hint. I keep telling her to just _ask_ Izzy out, but then she keeps calling me a hypocrite, so.” Simon gives a half-hearted shrug.

Jace laughs out loud. “Oh, Izzy is going to love this. You should tell her to just do it.” Jace leans over to see what Simon's texting, but Simon jerks the phone away.

“You don't want to see that,” Simon says breathlessly, in the over-defensive way that means he's trying to hide something. He tucks his phone away in some hidden pocket of his Iron Man jumpsuit as he keeps rambling. “She waxes all poetic about your sister's looks and the dirty things she wants to do to her, which you know, is not what _I'm_ into, per se, but you don't want to see all that.”

Jace is suspicious, but just as he's about to comment, he hears the sound of a vehicle stop behind them.

Suddenly, there's the sound of a van door sliding open and loud shouting as a few men jump out and grab the two of them. Jace struggles against his captor until the other man presses a wet cloth against Jace's nose and mouth, and the smell of chemicals enters his nose.

The last thing he sees before passing out is Simon in his Iron Man outfit getting dragged into an unmarked van. He tries to call out to him, tell him they're going to get out of this mess, but the words stick like molasses in his mouth. Then everything goes dark.

\--

NOW

Jace comes to with a jerk when a blunt force hits the back of his head.

“Ow, fuck, shit. Wake the hell up, Jace!” Simons voice is very close to Jace's ear, panicked on the verge of hysterical.

Jace blinks rapidly, taking a moment to take stock of his situation. His eyes have to adjust to the darkness--the only light is coming from the moon and some lighting outside the high windows, which means they're in some empty warehouse. The air feels damp and smells a bit salty, and if he strains his ears Jace can hear the echo of moving water. They must be at the docks.

He turns his attention on himself. Besides the soreness at the back of his head--no doubt already becoming a tender bruise--his whole body is sore, probably because he's tied sitting upright, tied to a metal chair. He's still wearing the Captain America costume. Briefly, Jace feels mortified that his kidnappers had caught him wearing this, of all outfits, but that's the least of his problems.

His wrists are tied behind the chair back and rope around his arms and torso for good measure. When he straightens his back and rolls his shoulders back, he brushes up a body right behind him. It's Simon.

“Jace, come on buddy,” Simon babbles. “I _need_ you. I swear, if we get out of this alive, I'm going to tell you… Just wake up--”

“Why does my skull hurt?” Jace croaks, cutting Simon off as soon as he can find the words.

“Oh thank god, _finally_ you're awake,” Simon says, relieved. “I've been up for at least twenty minutes already. I've been trying to wake you up for ages. I had to basically headbutt you, cause that's pretty much the only thing I can move.”

Jace snorts. “At least you're using your head,” he quips dryly.

Simon barks out a laugh. “Oh my god, don't make me laugh. _This isn't funny_. This place is cold and damp and I am _not_ dressed for a kidnapping right now.”

Jace flexes his hands, moving them around to see if he can reach anything. “Did you see the guys who took us?” Jace asks as he squirms, testing the ropes and ties.

“No, I've been completely alone this whole time,” Simon says. “I have no idea what's going on. Do you think this has something to do with a case?”

“No idea,” Jace grunts. He's straining at the ropes, the grit of them starting to rub at his bare wrists. Even just a little bit of movement has his body warming up, the heat trapped in the cheap polyester of his costume. He feels hot and itchy and _disgusting_. “You couldn't have gotten me a costume that breathes?” he complains.

“Hey, I was expecting a nice night out at the Avengers premier,” Simon defends. “I didn't anticipate the need to escape a kidnapping situation, alright?” By now, he seems to realize what Jace has realized; their hands are just a tad more mobile than the rest of their bodies, and they're close enough to help each other out. Jace feels Simon's hands slap against his, telling him to _just stop moving._

Jace calms his hands and breathes through the feeling of Simon's fingers creeping up to work at the knot around Jace's wrists. He looks around them as the bonds loosen around his wrists, spotting for exits.

“What'd you do to piss these guys off anyways?” Simon continues loudly. “Did you put away their mob boss?”

Before Jace can answer, the warehouse lights switch on. The brightness stuns Jace for a moment, and as the spots clear from his eyes, Jace hears a stranger's voice ring out in the warehouse.

“No,” the the stranger says. “He took our father. Isn't that right... _brother_?”

Jace's mind races to catch up. Their kidnappers are Circle members. Of _course_ they're Circle members. He can't believe it took this long to realize. Just until a couple months ago, he was living among them as one of their own, gathering evidence to arrest Valentine--their leader, his father--and now the ones remaining were after his head.

That still doesn't explain who _this_ guy is. As Jace's vision adjusts to the light, he sees that the other man is someone he doesn't recognize--a tall blond man stalking closer to him, studying him with an uncomfortable, predatory intensity. Jace hates him already.

“Who the hell _are_ you?” Simon asks from behind Jace. “Some cheesy Bond villain?”

“These must be Valentine's guys,” Jace explains, for Simon's benefit. “Can't have been high in the organization if they're not behind bars with the bust we made. I don't even know who _this jerk_ is though.”

The blond guy tilts his head to the side, a little miffed but mostly smug and self satisfied looking. “You mean Daddy didn't tell you about me? He can't have really trusted you that much,” he says, stepping closer to Jace. “My name's Jonathan. I've been overseas for the last few years, now I'm back.”

“I thought you were an only child when you were little,” Simon says, jerking at the ropes around Jace's wrists. Jace's hands are free now; he just has to wait for an opportunity.

“I thought so too. It does explain a lot about my childhood,” Jace replies coolly.

“I suppose I should thank you for taking out the old leadership,” Jonathan continues. He pauses in his monologue to smirk at Jace. “Valentine was getting sloppy, letting things like his sentimentality for _you_ of all people get in the way.”

“What a smashing party you've thrown me,” Jace deadpans, looking pointedly around the warehouse. Jonathan doesn't have a lot of men, it seems. There's maybe five max, covering all the exits. He returns his eyes to Jonathan, who looks unamused by Jace. “I'm wondering, am I getting a cake here? Or is that supposed to be a surprise?”

Jonathan leans close to Jace's face, scowling as he crowds his personal space. They're only inches apart, and something competitive inside Jace just wants to lash out and wrestle the other man to the ground.

“ _You're_ here because you still betrayed the Circle. For that, you must be punished,” Jonathan hisses. “I'm planning on executing you myself, but I decided I brought your little friend along too. I'll make you watch. I know he's something special. No self respecting Circle member go out in public dressed as you are unless it was for someone you get _sentimental_ about. What are you dressed for anyway? It's not even Halloween.”

“Hey! I resent that remark!” Simon yelps. Jonathan looks sharply up at him; that's when Jace's opportunity presents itself.

Jace uses his freed hands to reach up and grasp Jonathan's collar. Jonathan yells, started, but is quickly silenced when Jace slams their foreheads together and twists in his chair to take them all down, dragging Jonathan down on top of him and Simon as the chairs they're tied to topple to the ground.

The next few minutes are a confused flurry of motion, the confusion not at all helped by the physical pain caused by Jace's fall to the floor. One moment, Jonathan is trying to scramble out of Jace's hold, shouting at his remaining Circle members to _just shoot the two cops_. The next moment, one of the door slams open and he hears Izzy's voice yelling: “NYPD! WEAPONS ON THE GROUND! GET AWAY FROM THE IDIOTS DRESSED AS SUPERHEROES!

Jonathan struggles out of Jace's grasp and gets up to run, but then Izzy and Clary are there to pin him to the ground. The rest of the tactical team make short work of Jonathan's men, and in no time everybody's been cuffed and lead out of the warehouse, no doubt to police vans to be taken in for booking.

Clary and Izzy rush over to Jace and Simon to help them up from the ground. “I was so worried about you,” Clary explains breathlessly as she cuts at the rope around Simon. “We were in the middle of texting, and you were freaking out badly so I _knew_ there was no way you just stopped responding for no reason--”

“ _Simon_ was freaking out?” Jace butts in. “He told me you were freaking out on him about Izzy.”

Izzy, who is halfway through with the ropes around Jace's ankles, tenses, and Jace looks over to see Clary flushing a bright pink.

“I was doing that too,” Clary admits grudgingly, “But only to take Simon's mind off of his problems!”

“I have a lot of problems!” Simon chimes in. “Not all of them have to do with relationships or weird bets!” His voice is oddly strangled and high, and no doubt he would be trying to run away if he wasn't still at least partly tied to a chair.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Clary stresses, bringing the topic back to the rescue. “I knew there was no way that Simon was going to be texting me frantically and then decide to just stop responding even though I kept telling him he should just be focusing on spending time with you. After half an hour, I logged into Simon's account on Find My Phone, and tracked the last known location here. I think the kidnappers tossed your phones into the water. We've been searching the docks for you for the last hour.”

“I feel like I should be thanking you, but my privacy feels extremely violated,” Simon tells Clary seriously, but she just laughs and throws her arms around him.

\--

It isn't until even later, after they're untied and taken to the back of an ambulance for some water and shock blankets, that Simon and Jace have a moment alone to just breathe.

Everyone else around them is running around clearing the area and making sure civilians don't get too close. Jace feels like the two of them are in this odd bubble of silence shared only by the two of them, sitting here in the back of an ambulance.

“So,” Simon starts. He's always the first to break a silence. “I guess Izzy knows about Clary's crush now. You think they're going to get together?”

“If Izzy has anything to say about it, they will,” Jace says with a wry laugh and a shrug. “She's not going to leave Clary hanging. They're not like us, where one person confesses and the other person just doesn't feel the same.”

Jace doesn't mean for it to come out, but tonight Jonathan, a total stranger, had gone out of his way to rub Jace's _sentimentality_ for Simon in his face. It's bringing up feelings of resentment that Jace hadn't even realized were there.

“Jace…” Simon starts hesitantly.

“Hold on Simon,” Jace cuts in quickly. He wants to get this in before he loses his nerve. “Just let me ask about this just this once, and then we can go back to pretending I never said anything in the first place.”

Simon just nods, silent for once in his life.

“These last couple months, everyone--especially you and Clary--has been trying to pretend like I wasn't gone for so many months. Clary's trying to set me up on dates, you're making these stupid bets with stupid terms. Just like we used to do. Acting like it's all the same. But it isn't,” Jace says. “The night we found out about Valentine in the first place, when I went to request being put undercover with Valentine in the first place, and you came with me… I poured my heart out to you. I told you I liked you romantically, and I thought maybe we'd discuss it if I got back alive. And you don't feel the same way, I get it. But couldn't you at least, I don't know, acknowledge that it happened?”

Simon's lips have flattened into a line, which doesn't seem like a good sign to Jace. He starts speaking quietly. “Did I tell you about Raphael?” he asks.

Jace swallows roughly. “Your ex from special crimes?” he says. Of course he remembers him. Raphael was two years ago, an amazing detective and the perfect boyfriend for Simon. It wouldn't be a surprise if Simon was still hung up on him.

Simon nods. “I was worried about him every day. Any day he could get hurt. He could get shot. He could _die._ We broke up because I didn't want to have that kind of stress in my personal life. I have it every day at work. That's why I don't really date cops anymore.”

Jace watches Simon with his downcast eyes, looking small and frail wrapped in a blanket, wearing an Iron Man jumpsuit. He gets the picture, he thinks.

“But then you--” Simon says and looks up at Jace fiercely, holding his gaze. “You went undercover. And then every day, for the next four months, I was sick with dread wondering if you were okay. If you were alive. You were in so deep, I had no way of even contacting you to see if you were okay. It was a thousand times worse than any day I was with Raphael.”

Simon takes a break, looking away from Jace to take a sip of water from his water bottle. When he starts speaking again, his voice is soft again, vulnerable. “When you got back, and I finally saw you for the first time, I just… wanted things to go back to the way they were. That includes dumb pranks and convincing you to dress up like Captain America, not… not acting on any feelings,” Simon says gesturing vaguely between them. He laughs ruefully.

“So what are you saying?” Jace asks, barely daring to hope. It sounds like Simon's telling him that his feelings aren't as unrequited as he thought. “Are you saying that you have feelings for me too?”

Simon stares at him flatly. “Of course I do. I thought that was obvious, with all the teasing we do. I've just realized lately that my feelings are a little bit deeper than I thought.”

A small smile stretches at Jace's mouth, and he finds himself leaning in closer to Simon's space. A thrill runs up his spine when he realizes that Simon isn't pulling away. He reaches his hand up to touch Simon's face and wonders at the way Simon's eyes flutter closed as Jace gets closer.

Then they're kissing for the first time, softly and sweetly, in the back of an ambulance surrounded by police activity, wearing cheap Avengers Halloween costumes. The kiss itself is everything Jace had hoped and nothing at all like his imagination. Simon's lips are chapped and rough, his hands a bit larger than Jace is used to when Simon runs a hand through Jace's hair. Simon makes a noise in the back of his throat and parts his lips so that Jace can dive in deeper. They kiss like that for what seems like hours, but can only have been a minute or so.

“All this time, I thought you were ignoring what I said because you didn't feel the same,” Jace tells him breathlessly when they finally part.

“No, I was just scared,” Simon admits, smiling wryly. “But if we're going to get kidnapped and shot at anyway, we might as well give it a shot, right?”

Jace laughs in soft agreement and leans back in for another kiss. Yeah, they might as well.


End file.
